Giannis Antetokounmpo Injury Leads to Major Fall in Bucks’ NBA Finals Odds

UPDATE: Giannis Antetokounmpo reportedly avoided any structural damage in his left knee, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski. While Giannis has avoided the worst, his timetable to return remains unclear. What follows in the initial report surrounding the Milwaukee Bucks' odds to win the NBA Finals following his injury.

Things could not have gone worse for the Milwaukee Bucks in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals. 

Not only did the Bucks lose Game 4 to the Atlanta Hawks to allow the Hawks to even the series, but superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo went down with a knee injury and did not return. 

It didn’t look good, and there are people within the Bucks organization that reportedly are fearing the worst for Giannis.

Following the loss and Antetokounmpo’s injury, the Bucks saw their NBA Finals odds plummet on WynnBET. Milwaukee entered Game 4 as the favorite to win the title at -116 odds, but the Bucks are now second in the NBA Finals standings at +325, and the Hawks aren’t too far behind at +550.

The Bucks called Antetokounmpo’s injury a hyperextension of his knee during last night’s game, and while he returned to the bench, he did not return to the game.

The Hawks are missing Trae Young due to a foot injury, but he seems much more likely to return in the series than Giannis. The Hawks supporting cast got the job done, especially when Giannis left the game, which is certainly concerning for the Bucks. 

The Bucks were down 62-52 when Antetokounmpo was injured, and they were outscored 48-36 the rest of the way. Imagine how bad things would have been if Young was in the lineup?

Right now, Milwaukee is a 2.5-point favorite on WynnBET to win Game 5 at home, however that is down from 4.5 points which is what the line opened at this morning. 

If Young plays and Antetokounmpo doesn’t in Game 5, it’s hard to see the Bucks being favored by much, if even at all to win.